Implementing Exercise Regimen With GTD?

11-21-2010, 09:53 PM

Hello again!

So, if I wanted to implement an exercise regimen (e.g., 30 minutes of stretching and 30 minutes of cycling), what is the best way to do this within GTD?

It would seem that I should schedule it on the calendar, BUT it isn't something that needs to be done every day---just three or four times a week. And those three or four times could be every other day one week and four days in a row the next.

And, if I make it a next action, it's never done, because it needs to be done again within the next day or two as well.

Comment

I agree. I would schedule it on a week-to-week basis. If your calendar allows you to schedule it on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, but suddenly on Tuesday you find time to exercise, then go ahead and delete Wednesday's routine.

Comment

Your in a gray area (to me). In GTD, if it's tied to a hard date, it belongs in the calendar, if not it belongs in the NA list.

Do you use a tickler system? If you have a daily tickler folder, you could put it in there; 'Workout 1', 'Workout 2' etc. Each day you review your daily tickler, choose which actions to do that day and which to defer to the following day. For example, on Monday you have all 3 workouts in the folder; you choose to do workout 1. Then you move 'Workout 1' to the tickler folder for next week, and you defer workouts 2 & 3 by moving them to tomorrow's tickler folder. Repeat each day. You can block off time in you calendar for today's workout, if that works.

I don't use a tickler system, so anyone who does, feel free to confirm or correct my understanding of the system.

"Set up exercise routine" belongs on your Projects list. This is the anchor for your commitment. This project stays open until you've got a routine going on cruise control where it just automatically happens for you.

Once that project is completed, then you might set some fitness goals for yourself which might then spawn other projects, but that's not the focus right now. I mention this for the future because you don't want your routine to become so stale and boring that you may stop doing it out of boredom or frustration.

Scheduling workouts on your calendar might be one action, but only if you have everything that you need to do these workouts and you know exactly where you will be doing them. If you are you lacking any equipment or need a gym membership and don't have one, then your first action will be very different.

Comment

Please note that it is also part of GTD to use your Calendar for reminders, not only appointments. It is information that you want to see again during a particular time period.

On Monday, my calendar may say "Exercise today?" Subprojects with no deadline get similar treatment ("rough draft completed?" "packed for trip?").

I have recurring exercise appointments. If you are exercising 3x per week, you will get better at noticing whenever you don't have exercise listed for yesterday, today, or tomorrow. A calendar reminder will help you think about it as often as you want to.

There are many people with "exercise" on a Next Action list, where it has remained dormant for a while. With the above, you can avoid that.

-JohnV474

Comment

Yes, that's exactly what I was referring to as well. You need to schedule it on the calendar in order to keep yourself exercising. It really is related to time. If you put something like that on your NA list, you have no reason to even bother with it if you don't feel like it. Calendars are better equipped to handle recurring events as opposed to NAs, which are more of a bookmark of your next action with no time committment.

But scheduling days and times to excercise is a committment to yourself. You have to actually move it or delete it on that day, which will keep you informed of how well you are doing at maintaining your exercise routine overall.

I do agree with the comment about a project if you have no idea of what you are going to do to exercise. If you need to visit your doctor, purchase equipment, research excercise routines, etc, then certainly set up a project to get that all completed. But once you know what type of exercise you are doing and for how long, it's time to schedule those days on your calendar and get to it!

Please note that it is also part of GTD to use your Calendar for reminders, not only appointments. It is information that you want to see again during a particular time period.

On Monday, my calendar may say "Exercise today?" Subprojects with no deadline get similar treatment ("rough draft completed?" "packed for trip?").

I have recurring exercise appointments. If you are exercising 3x per week, you will get better at noticing whenever you don't have exercise listed for yesterday, today, or tomorrow. A calendar reminder will help you think about it as often as you want to.

There are many people with "exercise" on a Next Action list, where it has remained dormant for a while. With the above, you can avoid that.

Comment

This would be a project to me. Remember every project has a beginning a middle and an end.

Even though this might look like one continuous event, exercise regimes of any kind have phases where you build, then maintain endurance/strength/flexibility and then a resting phase. The cycle starts over again. So you might have something like Complete a cardio program in 6weeks. Create a project plan if required that would include successive increases in pace/weights and schedule your Next activity.

Higher up from this project would be your health and fitness Area of Focus that lets you keeps you from falling off your path and keeps you centred. Higher up at 30000ft would be your 1-2yr goals which would help you gauge what your goals are for the year and if you are on track for the year and if you need to renegotiate your objectives for the year

Comment

I use an @Agenda list for things like that. @Agenda has people and places for whom I have multiple items. @Boss contains a list of things I'd like to discuss with him, @Hardware is a list of things to pick up next time I'm at a hardware store. If I needed an extension cord ASAP, I'd put that in the @Local (errands) list.

For workout, I have a "Weekly Exercise Goals" list that has
3 Cardio
2 Strength Training
2 Stretching \ Yoga

During weekly review, I schedule what I can, I know Tuesday and Friday I can get to the gym at lunch, so I block off the time.

Karate class is a fixed schedule, so that is in my calendar with the rest of my appointments. I don't need it in the "Weekly Exercise Goals" list.

Comment

GTD offers some great guidelines for implementing the approach into your work but the bottom line is, what works for you? What compels you to get it done? If treating it as a meeting with yourself and putting it in your calendar works and you get it done because it's there, then that's the way to do it.

Personally, I didn't start keeping that date with myself until I put it into my calendar. Now, I'm working out consistently 4-5 times a week. That's what works for me so that's what I do despite it not exactly being a "hard date".

I had it as a to-do for a while and then on a checklist for a while and neither worked for me. I would suggest trying a few different ways to see what helps you get it done and then stick with that. Allow yourself to be flexible and find what works for you.